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EDITS Travel
Worldwide Destinations
with Tickets Anywhere, your independent travel expert
Cities & Short Breaks
The most exciting & vibrant cities around the world
Tickets Anywhere Independent Travel Agent
5 Greyhound Walk · Thame · Oxon · OX9 3DY t. 01844 217228
See more at: www.ticketsanywhere.co.uk
Bryony Hordern of Thame travel agents, Tickets Anywhere,
embarks on a cruise ship for the voyage of a lifetime.
Seeing Africa by sea
My husband, David, and I flew to Cape
Town in South Africa to board the Ocean
Princess. The ensuing 30-day cruise
turned out to be one of the most fabulous
and moving trips we have ever made.
We travelled with Emirates Airlines as this
gave us the opportunity to fly via Dubai, where
we were able to catch up with our best man
and his wife for a few days before picking
up the onward flight to Cape Town. Here we
stayed at the Taj Hotel, a stunning hotel right
in the city centre. It has been converted from
an old banking house and it retained many of
the original features. In the morning through
our bedroom window we were greeted with
a sweeping view of Table Mountain, whilst
in the evening we would eat at the famous
and wonderful Bombay Brasserie. The Hotel
really spoiled us, they even had a car at our
permanent disposal, and our lovely four-day
stay in Cape Town included a guided tour to
the wine region of Stellenbosch.
Then it was time to embark on the Ocean
Princess. With the glory of Table Mountain,
looming high above the harbour, we gently
set sail. With just 600 fellow passengers
on board, the atmosphere was intimate
and relaxed, and it was easy to meet and
make new friends over the ensuing 30 days.
Despite its smaller scale, the Ocean Princess
came with every facility you would expect of
a much larger cruise ship.
Our journey was to take us up the Atlantic
coast of Africa. The first port of call was
Luderitz in Namibia, a very small town and
very Germanic in every way with restaurant
menus written in German. Our second port
was Walvis Bay where we hired a 4X4 and had
the chance to explore the magnificent sand
dunes that blanket the Namibian coastline.
Once back on the ship we set sail and had
four days at sea which we used to relax and
use the spa. On reaching Cotonou in Benin
we had a guided tour of the city and a boat
trip around the stilt village of Ganvie. Here we
saw a side to Africa that many tours choose
to sidestep. The local people, setting sail in
small boats from their houses that stand on
stilts in the shallow coastal sea and eke a
meagre living from the catches they land. I
was profoundly moved and saddened by the
relentless poverty.
Cape Town
Namibia
Togo